Flores' body was found on June 2, 2010, and van der Sloot was soon arrested, having crossed the border into Chile. Prosecutors say he tried to cover up the crime while stealing Flores' bank cards and cash.

Van der Sloot admitted to killing Flores in a videotaped confession. He said he flew into a rage and broke Flores' neck when she allegedly used his laptop to research his role in the Holloway case.

His defense attorney Jose Luis Jimenez, says his client was in a fragile mental state from years of being labeled a killer in the international press. Jimenez hopes to reduce the charges from first-degree homicide to manslaughter.

Van der Sloot's lawyer asks for a reduced sentence for his client, citing his fragile state of mind at the time of the murder and his cooperation with investigators. He then wrapped up his case, which moves the trial into the next phase where a sentence will be decided.

"i would like to say very sincerely ... my client, Joran van der Sloot, [on] May 30 of 2010 was 21 years old. He was in fact persecuted. He was faced against the entire world the last five years ... because of an occurrence he never actually committed and there is no existing evidence. i refer to an American citizen missing in Aruba ... added to the recent death of his father, this is all part of the baggage my client carried with him that morning that affected him in a negative order," Jimenez said.

Joran van der Sloot attends the continuation of his murder trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance in Aruba of an American teen in which he remains the main suspect. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Judges Victoria Montoya, center, Otilia Vargas, left, and Pilar Carbonel speak before the continuation of Joran van der Sloot's trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012. Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance in Aruba of an American teen in which he remains the main suspect. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Men protest against Joran van der Sloot outside San Pedro prison where his murder trial is held in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance in Aruba of an American teen in which he remains the main suspect. The sign at center reads in Spanish "Dutch assassin." (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot, left, enters the courtroom for the continuation of his murder trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, Jan. 11, 2012. The Dutch citizen pleaded guilty to in the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Police officers escort Joran Van der Sloot, second right, during a press conference at a police station in Lima, on June 5, 2010. The young Dutchman wanted in the murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman, and who also remains the lone suspect in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway, arrived in Peru's capital to face justice, after being handed over by Chilean police at the two countries' border. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot, center, enters the courtroom for the start of his murder trial held at the San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 6, 2012. Van der Sloot, 24, stands trial Friday for the 2010 murder of the 21-year-old Stephany Flores, of Peru, nearly seven years after he became the prime suspect in the unsolved disappearance of an American teenager on holiday in Aruba. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot, front right, sits in court for the continuation of his murder trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, Jan. 11, 2012. The Dutch citizen pleaded guilty to in the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot sits in the courtroom as he waits for the continuation of his murder trial to start at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, Jan. 11, 2012. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance in Aruba of an American teen in which he remains the main suspect. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot was charged with killing and robbing Stephany Flores, a woman he met while gambling at a Peruvian casino. Flores was killed on May 30, 2010 -- exactly five years after Natalee Holloway vanished in Aruba. Van der Sloot has been linked, but never charged to her disappearance. (Domingo al Dia, America Television Channel / AP)

Ricardo Flores, father of slain Stephany Flores, arrives to San Jorge prison for the trial of Joran Van der Sloot in the Lurigancho area of Lima, Peru, on Jan. 6, 2012. Van der Sloot, 24, stands trial for the 2010 murder of the 21-year-old Flores, of Peru, nearly seven years after he became the prime suspect in the unsolved disappearance of an American teenager on holiday in Aruba. (Karel Navarro, AP)

This image from security footage provided by the Lima police alledgedly shows Joran van der Sloot, as he leaves his hotel room May 30, 2010 -- the day Stefany Flores was allegedly killed in his hotel room. (Lima Police Handout / AP)

A shaman performs a ritual for the spiritual punishment of Joran van der Sloot, whose picture is posted on the wall, before van der Sloot's trial outside San Pedro prison. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Posters of Joran van der Sloot, right, and Stepahny Flores, left, sit among items from a shaman ritual outside San Pedro prison to punish the Dutchman's spirit. Van der Sloot, 24, is charged with killing 21-year-old Flores in his Lima hotel room on May 30, 2010, after the two left a casino together in the day's wee hours. The poster of Flores reads in Spanish "Stephany Flores asks for justice" and the poster of Van der Sloot reads "Spiritual punishment." (Karel Navarro, AP)

Chilean authorities escort Joran van der Sloot, center, in Santiago, Chile on June 4, 2010. The Dutch man was detained after crossing the border from Peru, where authorities said he killed Stephany Flores. Van der Sloot was previously arrested in the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalie Holloway, but later released by Dutch authorities. (Aliosha Marquez, AP)

Police show a photo of Joran van der Sloot at a news conference in Lima, on June 2, 2010. (AP)

In this Dec. 7, 2007 photo, Joran van der Sloot, right, sits in a car with his father, Paulus Van Der Sloot, after Joran was released from custody near Oranjestad, Aruba. For all his garrulous charm, Joran van der Sloot didn't do himself any favors in his online interactions, where his generation tends to reveal a lot about itself. (Pedro Famous Diaz, AP)

In this Sept. 6, 2005 photo, eighteen-year-old Joran van der Sloot, a resident of Aruba who had been held by police on the Caribbean island in connection with the disappearance of American tourist Natalee Holloway, exits Schiphol airport accompanied by unidentified relatives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For all his garrulous charm, Joran van der Sloot didn't do himself any favors in his online interactions, where his generation tends to reveal a lot about itself. (Peter Dejong, AP)

Joran van der Sloot, center, the Dutch teen detained in connection with the disappearance of Alabama high school graduate Natalee Holloway on May 30, arrives to the hospital for DNA tests in Oranjestad, Aruba, on July 20, 2005. Investigators said that they planned to conduct DNA tests on blond hair attached to duct tape that was found along the coast to see if it came from Holloway - in a possible break to the six-week-old mystery. (Dino Tromp, AP)

An undated photo of Natalee Holloway that was released by her family after her disappearance. (Family Photo / AP)

Joran van der Sloot, 20, takes a walk to the local supermarket near the house of his parents in Oranjestad, Aruba, in Dec. 2007. (Raul Henriquez, AFP/Getty Images)

Joran van der Sloot looks over his shoulder as he leaves the courtroom after his murder trial was postponed at the San Jorge prison in Lima, Peru, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot asked for more time Friday to decide how to plead in his trial for the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman. His case was postponed until Jan. 11.

Joran van der Sloot looks back from his seat after entering the courtroom for the continuation of his murder trial at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012. The Dutch citizen pleaded guilty to in the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010. (Karel Navarro, AP)

People protest against Joran van der Sloot as they hold up an enlarged picture of his police mug shot outside San Pedro prison where his murder trial is held in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 11, 2012. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the 2010 murder of a 21-year-old Peruvian woman he met at a Lima casino who was killed five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance in Aruba of an American teen in which he remains the main suspect. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot arrives to the courtroom for his sentence at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 13, 2012. Van der Sloot will be sentenced Friday for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, a young woman he met at a Lima casino. Prosecutors have asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Joran van der Sloot sits in the courtroom before his sentencing at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 13, 2012. Van der Sloot will be sentenced Friday for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, a young woman he met at a Lima casino. Prosecutors have asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft. (Karel Navarro, AP)

Members of the media take pictures of Joran van der Sloot, right, sitting in the courtroom at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 13, 2012. Van der Sloot will be sentenced Friday for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, a young woman he met at a Lima casino. Prosecutors have asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft. (Karel Navarro, AP)